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Slippery Rock University Receives Grant to Train Veterans to be Teachers, Bernstine Says

HARRISBURG – State Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) announced that Slippery Rock University, along with West Chester University in southeastern part of the state, will receive more than $272,000 in funding under the federal Troops to Teachers grant program.

“I believe the extensive training, vast experience and patriotism of our nation’s veterans make them excellent candidates to lead our classrooms,” Bernstine said. “Programs like Troops to Teachers help us give back in a small way to our veterans while putting some of our most upstanding citizens before our future generations.”

The Troops to Teachers grant program, managed by the Defense Activity for

Welcome to “Mike’s Memo,” an update on what’s happening in the 48th Legislative District, the State Capitol, and the progress of my legislative priorities. If you haven’t done so already, please take a few moments to visit my website atwww.senatorfolmer.com to learn more about issues that may affect you and your family.

Week of December 11, 2017

Upcoming Senate State Government & Transportation Committee Public Hearing The Senate State Government and Senate Transportation Committees will hold a joint public hearing on Tuesday, December 12 at 10 a.m. in Hearing Room One of the North Office Building to discuss motor voter, unlawful voting and cyber security.

“Gift”: Code for Legal Bribe? TAKE ACTION In late 2014 and early 2015, five current and former members of the General Assembly were charged with bribery and other charges related to their acceptance of cash “gifts” from a lobbyist. Despite a flurry of legislation at the time to ban cash gifts, it never happened. The House and Senate changed their chambers’ rules to prohibit the acceptance of cash gifts from lobbyists, but the law hasn’t changed. The law hasn’t changed because banning only cash gifts would raise some very uncomfortable questions for lawmakers about the kinds of gifts they can still accept.

What kinds of gifts can they accept? Virtually anything as long as they follow the

**Earlier this week, the Fitch rating agency affirmed the Commonwealth’s debt rating at AA– but assigned a Negative Outlook due to the use of non-recurring budget balancing items in recent years, a lack of reserves, continued cost pressures and modest revenue growth.

Change Coming Soon for Online Retailers

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, now is a good time to highlight a change included in Act 43 of 2017 that will help level the playing field for Pennsylvania’s brick-and-mortar retailers. For decades, Federal Commerce Clause court decisions generally have prohibited

Weekly Roundup Friday, December 08, 2017 The latest news from the State Capitol REAL ID Update: Get Your Documents EarlyPennDOT launched a public awareness campaign outlining the steps for residents who wish to get a REAL ID-compliant driver license.Although the REAL ID products will not be available until 2019, PennDOT encourages residents who want them to obtain any required documents in plenty of time.Those documents include birth certificates with the raised seal, Social Security card, proof of all legal name changes and two proofs of current Pennsylvania address. My office can help with obtaining copies of the birth certificates, which can take up to four to six months. (Contact information is at the end of this email.)The federal government has extended the deadline for

HARRISBURG – Senator David G. Argall (R-Berks/Schuylkill) recently highlighted the cost savings that were obtained during the 2016-17 Fiscal Year by the Office of Inspector General through welfare fraud field investigations and legal proceedings in Berks and Schuylkill counties.

Based on the figures provided by the Office of Inspector General for the 2016-17 Fiscal Year, the office saved approximately $2.4 million in Berks County and $622,774 in Schuylkill County through various welfare fraud prevention initiatives.

While Argall noted that these cost savings are significant in the region and across the state, he believes more needs to be done. “As Chairman of the